


Soothing Wounds

by KnifeBinaryPrince



Series: Lavender Waters and Violet Beaches [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Graphic Description of Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mer!Allura (Voltron), Mer!Keith (Voltron), Mer!Lance (Voltron), Mer!Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 13:56:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9610433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnifeBinaryPrince/pseuds/KnifeBinaryPrince
Summary: Lance is hurt, Keith worries, and Allura is the best big sister.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be a completely different turn from what is written here, but I like it all the same.
> 
> Pretty much a self indulgent Allura & Lance siblings type thing with some Klance sprinkled in for flavor.
> 
> Kin with Mers is pretty much a sibling bond, whether by blood or friendship "kin" is referring to those as a tight knit family. The bond is especially stronger with older mers towards the younger mers who view the older mers as siblings and they'll go through great lengths to protect them each other.
> 
> Allura and Lance met when they were younger and lost their family pods, Allura's by death and Lance by storm. Lance tried to woo her at first but soon gave up when he saw her rip a Galra to shreds that had come a bit too close for her liking. He stuck around her for protection and the two ended up bonding to the point of kin.
> 
> EDIT: I actually went through and fixed some mistakes I saw and added more to it!

The cloudless sky gave way to the bright sun that beat down against the sand mercilessly, heavy and hot in the blistering afternoon. Sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the shore and gulls flying through the air cawing loudly in the sky were the only things to register through the injured creature's head; more specifically a merman's.

The pitiful creature was beached on the shore, too far in to get back to the safety of the ocean in its current condition. Fishing nets wrapped it in a sparse cocoon of webbing and thin, hard to see lines from stray fishing gear that snapped long ago, some parts wrapped so tightly the indents made from the lines turned to cuts and bled, red liquid seeping out from the cuts and soaking the sand under it an unnatural shade.

The scales of the merman were a deep blue, drying out and paling almost white in the heat; some scales even flaking off. Fins became tattered from the tightly wound lines and harsh heat of the sun.

The merman, Lance, whined pitifully, wincing when the action caused the fishing lines around his neck to cut deeper into his gills. A steady stream of blood poured never-ending from those wounds, causing parts of his gills to stick closed, making it harder to breathe properly. The flaking blue scales that would stick to the blood around his neck even once they were fully separated from his skin didn't help matters either. The rough, dry texture of them making his neck itch like no tomorrow. Which only reminded him of the current predicament with his hands. His right arm was pinned under and behind him, the other bent at the elbow and wound tightly to his chest by the fishing lines, which cut into his skin like a knife. And since he was too weak and exhausted to even move he couldn't really do anything to help himself out of this situation.

So he laid there, far enough inland in the beach to lay among the grasses, and waited for his inevitable death. His skin turning dark and blistered with sunburn, the sun's heat baking him. With dehydration came the sharp, painful headaches that racked his brain, forcing the Mer to close his eyes tightly and just hope his death was a quick one.

A few hours must've passed when he finally awoke, seeing that the once clear, sunny sky had grown dark and looming, clouds nearly black as heavy drops of rain started to pour down. Wetting him and the sand in sharp bullets that escalated quickly into a downpour.

The rain only seemed to aggravate his injuries, causing small whimpers of pain to escape his cut up throat, causing him to cough up something sticky that tasted coppery and caused his whole mouth to feel slicker than normal.

With a dejected view on the whole situation, Lance curled up as best he could in his little spot of blood soaked sand and beach grass, tears mixing with the rain as his sounds of distress grew quieter, tapering off into something silent.

***

In a cave forged into a cliff by the waves themselves was small pod of mers who had taken up residence years before. All were currently laid up in a semblance of a cuddle pile, save for a certain red Mer, who's chest rumbled restlessly in worry for his mate who had yet to show up and take up his spot beside him.

The others had slowly but surely moved across the cave floor, the scent of Keith's anxiety becoming too suffocating to be near. Even when they assured him that Lance would be fine, that he was probably off hunting for shiny things again, that didn't help reassure him in the slightest. Lance never missed a nap time with the pod, or a cuddle pile for that matter, even if more times than most he slept with Keith instead in their small pool of water out and away from the others towards the cave wall.

Keith's facial fins flared up at the sudden cries from the mers in the pile. They all made sounds of alarm as they were moved and disturbed, Allura emerging from the top, eyes wide, chest heaving, and fins flared out in attention. Her eyes seemed to glow with the crystal embedded in the stone walls, her pink scales shining as she moved, barking out an order for silence among the disturbed mers that had been grumbling in annoyance at the abrupt wake up call.

Shiro slid up slowly next to her, a tough task on land with only one arm, but he managed all the same, bumping his cheek against her scaled shoulder in gentle question, fins laid down passively to thwart her sudden aggression from him should she choose to strike out.

Allura paid him no mind, the fins from her ears that curled down to the back of her neck flaring out as she listened intently for whatever sound she had heard before.

The others stood to attention as well, straining to listen to whatever had caught her attention, the only sounds were the small rush of the waves, small currents in the water, and the incessant dripping from the cave ceiling.

But other than that there was only utter silence.

Whatever she had heard must have made itself known again as she dove headfirst into the water, tail glittering for a split second before it was gone in the blink of an eye.

Shiro tried to follow her, but the Mer was long gone when he reached the outer area of the cave entrance. His near black purple tail waving side to side, fins glittering in the little light that the storm on the surface allowed.

Coran appeared next to him, followed by Pidge, Hunk, and Keith who floated idly at the entrance as they looked towards Shiro curiously, wondering what he was going to do about whatever had just happened.

Shiro looked just about as clueless as they all felt, and seeing his half blood kin confused and worried like this didn't settle right with Keith, who clicked his claws together anxiously, a nervous tick he'd developed at a young age that he never seemed to have grown out of.

***

Allura had long since stopped swimming, floating with the waves that rolled flawlessly over her as she stood and waited for another sign, anything that would lead her to her kin.

Another high pitched chirp reached her fins, the sound traveling from the spines down towards her ears and before she could give it a second thought she was off, swimming faster towards the shore.

She broke the surface of the water, back arching as she held herself up, bright blue eyes scanning the beach, her fins all flared out against the wind and rain, straining to hear. Another chirp sounded, closer than the last and before she knew what she was doing she was pulling herself across the sand. She wasn't even ten feet from whatever it was before she smelled copper and tasted blood on her tongue. The tangy smell coated her tongue and down the back of her throat, she couldn't even flutter her gills without the bitter stench clinging like a bad aftertaste.

She trilled worriedly as her eyesight focused on the cut and bleeding body of a familiar blue Mer. She dragged her much heavier body over the rest of the way towards the Mer, a broken whine leaving her throat when she saw Lance. Her whines grew in volume as she looked over his body. Her closer inspection revealing the state of his injuries and the severity of it as a whole. He was wrapped tightly in commercial fishing nets and tight fishing lines, which seemed to cut through his scales and bite into his flesh.

Allura pressed her face at the junction where his fins met the bottom of his neck, claws carefully running through his wet, dark brown hair. She cooed softly, trying to ease the hurt whimpers that escaped from his bleeding throat when he realized she was with him.

Lance's cries died down at her careful actions, the rain still making the cut flesh sting and his sun blistered skin burn, but other than that thanks to Allura's ministrations he was able to calm down enough as to not aggravate his injuries any further than they already were.

Allura kept up her soft trills, lifting her head up to look and see where to cut the many lines using her claws. And how to go about removing the fishing lines that had dug too deeply into his flesh. Luckily she was able to get those by digging in a claw a bit and pulling up to catch on the line, trilling out soft apologies in response to the hurt whimpers Lance was making, more tears running down his face, mixing with the rain and sand.

She was extra careful with the lines that wrapped over his fins, knowing how well he worked to keep them clean and free of any tears or tatters, a process which took time and careful planning. She was able to cut those away without further damage, moving to his trapped arms and taking some time to cut those extra carefully, seeing as how it dug into his skin cutting right above a major artery.

When she finally cut away the last of the lines from his wrists Lance stretched out his arms a bit, claws extending slowly as he worked to get the blood flow back into his limbs. He exposed his neck to Allura, hoping it would help in aiding her to get the lines that wrapped multiple times over his gills and around his tender, bleeding neck.

Allura didn't miss this monumental show of trust as she dragged her teeth carefully over his neck, making sure it was well away from his gills. When her teeth caught onto the line she bit right through, unwrapping the rest of the line from his throat carefully.

Lance tried to sit up, only to be pushed down as Allura proceeded to fuss over his injuries, giving out sharp chirps to reprimand him as if he was a pup.

He winced as her clawed hands rubbed over his skin, checking for injuries while simultaneously aggravating his severe sun burn. He hissed at her, only to get hissed in return as she continued to check for further injuries.

The only thing that concerned her enough to actually worry was the immense amount of blood he lost, which stained the wet sand beneath them red, and the exhausted look in his eyes.

Allura nudged at him abruptly, trying to get her kin up and following her. Which didn't work too well seeing as how his injuries were too severe and a hindrance to his movement. That, coupled with the fact that he was clearly dehydrated even in this rain and facing hunger didn't help. They had to get back in the water before the rain stopped, back to safety and the pod. Their home they now had after so long, their family.

Getting an idea from when they were younger Allura rolled next to him, back up, calling softly to him. Getting the idea after a minute or two Lance managed to crawl towards her, looping his arms around her neck and dragging the rest of him sluggishly on her tail, mindful of her sharp spines.

Just like the times when they were smaller Allura carried him to the water, mindful of his injuries and stopping every ten or so feet to make sure he was okay and still holding on tightly before continuing on.

Finally they made it to the edge of the water, the sea foam lapping at her wrists, and with another final pull, muscles straining with effort, she was able to get them all clear into the water. Lance hissed softly as the fresh salt sunk into his wounds, blood running free once more. But he was careful to hold himself back from any unwarranted snapping of the teeth. He still remembered the last time he'd snapped at Allura, she made sure he kept in mind not to ever do that again.

Allura continued swimming, and it was only apparent to Lance after a few minutes that they were not going to the cave where their pod lay in wait, probably awaiting for their return.

Lance lifted his head a bit, gills fluttering and tired eyes widening as he took in the familiar path around them. The water here was deeper, therefore the waves didn't affect them like they would've if they were closer to the surface. It was half an hour before they arrived at their destination, an incredibly dense kelp forest, the ground floor littered with sunken ship parts and wreckage. The large, broken ship parts so entertained with the kelp and small clustered of coral you would have to really know your way around to be able to navigate through without causing harm to yourself. Which was one of the reasons why mers and larger predators kept clear of this part of the coast.

Lance trilled questioningly to Allura, who continued on through the puzzling forest of kelp, easily navigating her way through while keep clear of sharp chunks of bent metal for Lance's sake. It was only because they had lived in a kelp forest like this before coming here and played in high coral pillars covered with winding kelp vines that she was able to get them through safely.

Allura found a safe, clear patch of sand to lay Lance on before she swam from place to place, collecting kelp and clearing the area around him from wreckage to give Lance more room to stretch his tail. Lance watched for a few minutes, getting a few reprimanding barks when he tried to help, only to get pushed back down into the sand to rest. His attention soon turned to his wounds, which stung and burned in the salt water. He licked at them gently to ease the inflamed, red skin, making sure they were cleaned of dirt and any other toxins his saliva would neutralize.

Allura came back from wherever she had gone while Lance was tending his wounds with arms full of kelp, setting them at and around Lance, who lifted himself up a bit so she could place the soft, fresh bedding below his body.

When she finished she beat her tail a few times through the water, twirling around in the water through the large kelp that grew around them.

It was only a few minutes before she came back bearing gifts of fish. Lance's fins flared out in excitement, his pain forgotten as his hunger made itself known tenfold.

Allura hummed in amusement as Lance's eyes lit up, the fins running along her tail fanning out as she settled in the sand in front of him. With quick precision she cut the fish meat into small enough portions for him to eat without aggravating his raw, bleeding neck and sore throat. The fish was finished before long and Lance nipped at Allura's claws for more, getting a gentle nip to his forehead for being impatient and bossing her around.

Lance only chittered begrudgingly, but he grinned anyway as he watched Allura leave to catch more fish for him as he went back to addressing his wounds and licking them as clean as he could.

His scales however, were another story; he picked at the dry ones that had bleached in the sun, letting them float away into the forest of kelp. His gills flared out a bit at the arrival of a new scent in the water, making him wince with the movement, some parts of his gills were still stuck to his skin from the blood and grit that collected there.

His fins flared out, gently waving to pull the scent towards him to carry more of the unknown scent to his gills for him to identify. His eyes widened as he recognized the familiar scent, now tinted with worry and fear.

Keith.

Lance tried to call for him, only a pitiful chirp sounding out through the water.

That was apparently enough if his mate's calls that answered back to him were anything to go by, sounding worried and relieved all at the same time.

Lance fanned out his fins to their fullest, wafting his scent outwards for his mate to follow, which urged the red Mer to hurry when he smelled blood on his scent, weaving through the many large pieces of wreckage and kelp.

Scales of red emerged from the dark kelp, a small sound of relief escaping the red Mer when his eyes set upon Lance. He chirped for Keith to come closer, which the Mer did carefully, circling the blue Mer to gauge his injuries. His anger seemed to flare when he saw the deep cuts that now ran down and around his mate's beautiful blue tail. A harsh rumble kicked up from his chest when he spotted the sun burnt skin and the inflamed gills he now sported.

Lance cooed, the sound soft and raspy, getting close enough to rub his face against the other Mers neck, nuzzling the gills gently in apology as he exposed his own neck.

He mentally praised himself when the angry rumbling turned to gentle purring, the red Mer nuzzling oh so softly against his mate's neck, careful of the aggravated slits and licking a cool tongue down them, removing the grit and grime.

Lance shuddered, laying a clawed hand against Keith's collarbone, claws tickling against his neck, causing the purrs in the other mer's chest to grow louder.

Lance found himself pinned against the sandy ocean floor, hands pinned down by the wrists beside his face as violet eyes watched him, searching for any further injury.

Lance winced as a tiny bit of pressure was placed on his left wrist. Apparently he didn't hide it well enough as Keith let go of the injured wrist, watching as blood rose up in shapes similar to tiny, steam like vapors.

The red Mer focused his attention on that, sharp fins along his tail flared out to balance him above the other without placing any weight upon him.

He brought the wrist towards his mouth, kissing the inflamed skin around it before licking a long, gray tongue over it, soothing the cut.

Lance purred, nipping along Keith's jaw in thanks as he continued his ministrations, sniffing along other parts of his scaled skin that needed attention.

The blue Mer did nothing but purr as his mate checked him over, picking at the loose and dried scales, licking over cuts to sooth the burning flesh. His tongue went over the burnt skin at his torso and back, rubbing a cool, scaled cheek over the areas to rub his scent into them, letting it soak into the pretty blue scales, letting others know this pretty mer was taken.

Lance let him, secretly basking in the attention his mate was giving him, fins flaring and fluttering gently, moving the sand and kelp bed below him.

Lance cooed softly as he turned around back to facing him, grabbing Keith's face and dragging him carefully towards his own. He brushed his face into the red mer's midnight hair, smelling the lingering scent of worry and anxiety at the thought of Lance in any kind of pain. Lance's soothing purrs rumbled through his chest and to Keith's ears, assuring Keith that Lance was more than okay and not leaving anytime soon.

It took awhile for Keith to fully relax against him, scales rippling against Lance's own as he settled down, fins relaxing as they fanned outwards, swirling small currents through the kelp bed and against both of their tails.

Keith tucked his face under Lance's chin, soft coos escaping as Lance purred, the soft sound luring the red Mer to sleep against him.

***

Allura watched from the safety of the thick vines of kelp, knowing better than to intrude on a Mer couple, especially when one of them was injured. Even though her instincts clawed at her to protect her kin during his time of injury, she knew he was in good hands.

She relaxed her claws, sinking them into the sand deep of enough to feel the cold and settled down, her wide fins tucked in to keep her scent reigned in. In the morning she'd show herself and help to guide Keith and Lance back out through the underwater wreckage of a forest. Knowing full well it was only luck he was able to make it inside this far without any severe injuries.

She'd lead them out safely, make sure they were okay and check over Lance's wounds to make sure known were infected, then she'd return to the pod and see herself by Shiro's side once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! If you have any other questions feel free to ask!!!!
> 
> And if there are any tags you think of that would suit this better let me know!


End file.
